Fla. GOP Lawmakers Move to Cut Business Taxes

Florida lawmakers Thursday sent Gov. Rick Scott a bill to cut corporate income taxes by $30 million, helping the Republican lawmakers take a step toward fulfilling a campaign promise to reduce taxes on businesses.

Republican lawmakers vowed that this is the first move in a multi-year effort to cut the state’s $2 billion a year corporate tax, the St. Petersburg Times reported Friday.

The Florida House overwhelmingly approved a tax break of $1,100 a year on average for 15,000 small business.

"This is good-faith start towards removing this onerous burden on the very people we are relying on to start jobs in Florida," said Rep. Stephen Precourt, R-Orlando, sponsor of the bill.

The proposal was sent to Scott, who made it a campaign pledge to eliminate Florida's 40-year-old corporate income tax. While the measure is only a fraction of the $459 million in corporate income tax cuts sought by the governor this year, it was hailed by legislators as an incentive for job development.

Democratic Leader Ron Saunders of Key West said he supported the idea but cautioned that it’s not the silver bullet for job creation.

"This really helps eliminate small business paperwork but don't go back home and say this is huge tax break for small businesses," he said, "because $1,100 a year is not a huge tax break."